Improvement



Sewing Machine. No. 71,131. Patented Nov. 19, 1867.

. 2 Sheets-Sheet I. C- CADWELL.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

c. CADWELL. Sewing Machine.

Patented Nov. 19, 1867.

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CALEB JADVVELL, OF lVAUKEGAN, ILLINOIS.

Letters Patent No. 71,131, dated November 19, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING MAGHINES.

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TO- ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known, that I, CALEB CADWELL Of Waukegan, in the county of Luke,and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements inSewing Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full andexact description ofthe same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which are made part of this specification, and in which-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the upper portion of the machine,embracing the operating mechanism.

Figure 2 is a plan of the lower portion and treadle by which the machineis operated.

Figure 3 is a detached view, showing in perspective the spools andtension device.

Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, are detached views, hereinafter moreparticularly referred to. p

This invention is designed to eli'ect improvements in the mechanism forfeeding and guiding the cloth, regulating the tension and taking up theslack thread, and winding the thread upon the spools, and in the methodof retaining the spools upon their axes, and operating the shuttle, allof which will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the drawings, A is a metallic frame, arched at the top, having aprojecting arm, H, directly beneath the arched portion of the frame, andin the same vertical plane with it; the whole resting upon foot-pieces BB. The upper surface of the arm H forms the working-table of themachine, and may be enlarged to any required extent by fitting it into awooden table.

C is a treadle, by which motion is given to the foot-bar E andconnecting-rod F, thence to the wheel D, which serves both as a driverand fly-wheel. A belt or band, G, runs from the Wheel D to a pulley, 1,near the end of the shaft J. Ajointed block, K, upon the end of shaft J,gives motion to the shuttle E through the medium of the connecting-rodM, block N, angular arm 0, and rod P.

The shaft J, which runs through bearings Q Q on the opposite sides ofthe arch of the frame, carries on its projecting end a crank-irheeL'Vv",and wrist-pin t0, fig. 4, which by means of the rod R, bent to workaround the bearing S, actuates the needle-shaft T.

5 Between the crank-wheel W and bearing Q a cam, c, is keyed to theshaft J, which gives motion to the thread-tightener a (see fig. 4,.) byacting alternately on the parallel arms a and ad, which project from theupper extremity of the thread-tightener, as represented.

The thread-tightener is jointed at its lower extremity to the lever Y,which is pivoted to the frame A- 'This lever is drilled'near itsopposite extremities, forming eyes for the thread. A spring, e hearingagainst its inner extremity, is fastened to the frame by a screw, e.

i The thread-tightener is operated as follows: The cam 0,-upon the shaftJ, strikes the upper horizontal arm at, and the lever Y is therebyvibrated, and the thread between the eye of the thread-tightener and theneedle, is thereby drawn taut, in which condition it is held by theaction of the spring until the needle has nearly completed its downwardmotion, when the earn 0 comes in contact with the lower horizontal arma, and restores the'lever to its former position. I

The needle-shaft T moves in the bearings S A, and is actuated by thebent rod R, as described. A collar, (1, encircles the shaft Timmediately below the pin 6, which connects the rod R with theneedle-shaft. This collar a is secured in its position by the shoulder aand pin 0". A connecting-rod, U, is pivoted at one end to a projectionon the collar a, and at the outer extremity is likewise attached to thearm V, which operates the feed device H, (see fig. 6.)

A brass plate, c, fig. 6, is secured to the back side of the frame A bya screw, and bent around the side of the arch, terminating in ahorizontal ring, D, the centre of which must be situated directly overthe point where the needle is to pierce the cloth. The ring D surroundsand supports another ring, G, a shoulder upon which rests on the uppersurface of the ring D, and holds the inner ring'up. This shoulder isprovided with lngsf and o, the former of which supports a thumb-piece,g, which operates a clamping-key, g", working in grooves in the internalsurface of the ring D", and external surface of the ring'G, and thelatter of which supports the arm V with its attachments. g is athumlnpiece, fixed to the shoulder of the ring G, and acting against thesupporting-ring D below it, by means of which the inner ringer, and theparts attached to it, can be readily raised or depressed in order toadjust the cloth to the needle' The ring G, which may thus be raisedor'lowcred, has three long arms, one, H projecting perpendicularlyupwards, and terminating in another ring, G, the centre of which fallsdirectly over the centre of the ring G, and the other two, H and H",fig. 6, projecting perpendicularly downward, parallel to each other, andwith a small space between them, and bent round at the bottom to ahorizontal position, still parallel to each other, thus giving the armsthe form of a boot. The bottom of these arms I shall hereafter speak ofas afoot, and designate by the letter I. The needle-shaft T playsvertically through the rings above described, the lower end ofit,holding the needle vertically between the parallel sides of the foot I.e is a spiral spring, placed between the hearing A and the ring G,keeping the rings Gr and G, and the arms attached to them, in place, andpressing the foot I down upon the cloth.

The feeding-attachment is composed of the arm V, pivotedjust below itscentre, on a pin in the lugs 21, and bent in the form of a how, theconvex side towards the needle-shaft, together with the followingdevices attached: first, in a lateral slot in the lower part of the arm0, the bar 0 is pivoted on a pin at its top, and

jointed at its bottom to the feed-foot H; and, secondly, the lugs r,holding the short lever s, which is kept in place by the spring 8, and,as the upper part of the arm V moves inward, bears upon the inclinedsurface of the bar H pressing that bar downward, and again permittingthe bar to rise when the upper part of the arm V moves outward again.The feed-foot H moves backward and forward in the space between theparallel sides of the foot I, and is held in place by the little spring9;, operating on the heel of the bar 0. The feed-foot H is bifurcated,to permit the play of the needle, and has ratchet-teeth along its lowersurface, to move the cloth in the proper direction. The length of thestitch is regulated by means of the screw Z, which causes more or lesscloth to be fed to the needle at a single stitch, in proportion as it isscrewed in or unscrewed.

In the lower end of the needle-slide T, the needle I is secured, saidneedle I being made square, with deep grooves intwo of its sides, (seefig. 8,) one below, and one above its obliquely-drilled eye. The cornersor edges of the needle are rounded sufliciently to prevent cutting. Thisform allows the thread to slip freely and work through the cloth withoutchafing. The thread-guide d is a small, bent strip of iron, secured tothe frame 'A, below the plate a, whence it passes to the front, near theneedle, (see fig. 6.) This guide is provided with two eyes, one near theneedle, the other in a line with the eye, in the thread-tightener above.This guide serves to conduct the thread from the thread-tightener to theneedle.

The. cloth-guide consists of the pieces 0,19, q, and r, the upper part,0, being secured to the frame A oy a screw, 8, in the slot a By means ofthis slot the guide maybe raised or lowered to suit cloth of differentthickness, and the several parts of the guide are so connected that thelower guide-plate 1- may be adjusted to conform to the position of thefeed mechanism. The tension device, (sec figs. 1 and 3,) consists of theplate K, projections 25 a, and lever L, and is secured to the frame A byscrews passing through the plate K. In the projections t ware formedslots, in which the tension-lever L rests. This lever is pivoted at it.At the extremity farthest from the spool, an eye, e is drilled, throughwhich the thread from the spool is conducted to the eye in thethread-tightener. A screw, 0, passes through the projection u, by mcansof' which pressure is applied to the lever-L, and the degree of tensionthereby regulated A flat spring, Z is secured to that part of the leverwhich presses against the spool, which may have thimblcs to fit insideto cause them to move more evenly upon the shaft.

The spools M M revolve upon short shafts 'w w, in which position theyare retained by the. pressure of wires :1: 2:, each bent into the formrepresented, to increase its elasticity. Iprefer to have two spools, sothat different kinds or sizes of thread may be used to wind on theshuttle-spool if desired. The spring wires :1: :2: fit loosely on theouter extremities of the shafts w to, so that they will press gentlyagainst the spools to retain them in position, without retarding theirmovements, and are adaptedto he sprung off out of the way while thespools are being changed. Y

The spool-winder to is secured to the frame at the base of the lug or.hearing Q. The projections g y' form bearings in which the shaft 2 mayrotate, (see figs. 1 and 5.) The outer orprojecting extremity of saidshaft z bears a pulley, a, directly in the plane of revolution of thewheel and pulley 0, while the opposite end is designed to hold the spoolduring the operation of refilling it. The'proje'ctions 3 y are hinged atb 1), so that they may be turned down out of the way when not in use,(see red lines inl fig. 5.) The spiral spring 0' retains the shaft 2 andconnections in either position, horizontally, extended, or dependent.When in use, it is turned up against the band, and the shaft 2, with itsbearings, occupies the extended position, and when the operation ofwinding is completed, the shaft 2 and projections 3/ y are turned down,as stated, and are out of the line of the band.

v The shuttle (see figs. 9 and 10) is made by drilling a hole in a solidblock, of suiiicient depth for a spool and head of the pin that holdsit. A square hole is cut out of the upperface next to the needle, and anoblong hole below it, and an oblong hole near the centre, on top. Thensome three .or more holes are made near the upper inside corner, thatcan be used as eyes through which the thread is passed, to regulate itstension. A tension device 'is also put into the space forward of thespool, the same consisting of a pin or screw, a inserted in such amanner that one. end of a coil or other spring may be made to bearagainst the side of the space nearest the head of the pin or screw a theother end of the spring bearing against a loose block, 0%, on the otherside, block cZ being fitted on a screw-thread on the lower end of thepin. The block (Z is thus made to bear against the thread in a propermanner to produce the necessary tension between the blocks, the threadpassing obliquely througha hole to the top of the shuttle. The block iscutaway as thin as practicable, makmg the point as near saline with thelower side as proper. The pin that holds the spool may have a screw thatholds the end in the centre, near the fore part of the shuttle, and hasa head fitting the shuttle at the back end, being rounded at the end, sothat the thread may pass without catching.

The shuttle-driver is a block made to fit the race 0', at or near thebacli end of the shuttle, m1 jointed to the connecting-rod. This driveris cut away for a portion of its length, but leaving bearings for t 18back and forward ends of the shuttle, so that the shuttle is heldagainst the face, and at the same time the thread is allowed to passreadily. The fore part bears loosely against the angle of the shuttle,being of such shape 115 not to catch the thread. The shuttle-race 0 maybe a piece of metal, cast in proper shape, and screwed i0 @110 workingtable. The top plate is a thin plate, a part of which is fixed so as todrannor turn to form an be g Having thus described my invention, thefollowing is what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Lctte Patent:

0, arms a a, and rod a and the link K, rod M, and angular lever, saidparts being arranged substantially as described, and employed to operatethe needle-slide, thread-tightener, and shuttle, as explained.

2. I claim the combination of the needle-bar T, collar a, connecting-rodU, and arm V, for operating the feeding-foot H substantially asdescribed. I i

3. Iclaim the feeding attachment, composed of the bent forked lever V,the perpendicular bar H operated by the short lever s, and the spring 8,the pivoted bar 0, bearing the feeding-foot H, the gauge-screw Z, andthe spring 51:, all arranged and combined in their operationsubstantially as and for the purpose described.

4. I claim the ring G, supported in the outer ring D, in which itsposition is regulated by the clampingkey gt, the thumb-piece g, and thespring e, having the arm H to support the upper ring G, and the doublearm H H", to guide the feed-foot H, and bearing the feeding attachment,all constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposespecified.

5. I claim a thread=tightener device, consisting of the parts a a a e aand Y, arranged and operating substantially as described.

, 6. I claim a shuttle, constructed as herein described, andhaving aninternal tension device, consisting of the parts a 0 d 7. I claim thebracket K, with its bearings tu, in combination with pivoted lever L,spring Z, adjustingnut v, and spool, constructed and arranged as hereindescribed.

8. I claim the spring 0;, applied to the spools MM in the manner and forthe purpose specified. 9. I claim the bobbin or spool-winder n, with theshaft 2, pulley a, adjustable hearings y y, hinged at b, and spring a,when constructed and operating as herein described.

' CALEB, GADWELL.

Witnesses: v R. K. Cents, R. J. HULL.

to take out the shuttle, and may be held together by a spring. \v

1. I claim the combination of the shaft J, crank W, and crookedconnecting-rod R, the cam or projection I

